Archive for February, 2011

Given the stormy weather yesterday I left a bit early during a lull in the snow. I arrived home in time to see someone I haven’t spent time with in a long while – Oprah. Her show was very fascinating. The first part dealt with the choice of whether to eat meat or not. Lisa Ling took us on a tour of a meat packing facility. A very eye opening look. The episode went on to talk about veganism and how the Oprah staff went vegan for a week. Some are making life long changes, others couldn’t wait to get back to their old eating habits. But most felt much better, lost weight and plan on cutting back on their meat consumption. I found it a very informative and balanced show on the issue. Meat consumption was not demonized and the dangers of going vegan yet still consuming junk food were pointed out. You can check out a recap at: http://www.oprah.com/showinfo/Oprah-and-378-Staffers-Go-Vegan-The-One-Week-Challenge

It helped illustrate the point that people are very disconnected as to where their food comes from and how it is produced. Choices about your diet can obviously affect your health but it also has a large impact on resource and energy use. For instance, it takes alot more energy to produce meat as opposed to vegetables. And choosing locally produced foods helps to nuture our area’s economy. It is estimated that for every 1 dollar spent locally, 3 more dollars generated in the economy.

So while we might first think of recycling, reducing energy consumption or choosing alternative transportation when we talk about sustainability, the choices about what you eat can have as much of an impact toward a healthier planet.